I’d like to think grammar matters all the time in books. But I do know, and understand, language and communication change all the time and grammar evolves. I went to private school, with old guard teachers. Ending a sentence with a preposition was strictly taboo. But I do it now, sometimes, because I know what it’s all about.

But I’m not talking about grammar in books right now. I’m talking about grammar in every day communication, especially on social networks. In most cases, grammar doesn’t seem to matter much anymore. Just watch Judge Judy once in a while and listen to the way people speak. Even Judge Judy rolls her eyes and lets them get away with it. If she didn’t she wouldn’t have enough time to make a judgement. And, in all fairness, the people on Judge Judy aren’t promoting publishing related notices. The world has become more casual in every respect, and I don’t expect perfect grammar from everyone.

But this morning I received a facebook notice from someone who should know better. This is how the sentence was worded:

What do you think of the blank blank me and Betty Loo are trying to do at blank blank?

I would imagine this sounds harmless to most people reading this blog post right now. But it’s wrong. So I pulled this from a web site to show why it’s wrong. And, from what I remember in grammar school, we’re talking about the very basics here.

Grammar mistake number two: Me and my boyfriend went to the beach, is incorrect. You wouldn’t say, Me went to the beach, so why say, Me and my boyfriend…. A way to correct this is to put the person you did whatever with first. It becomes harder to say, My boyfriend and me went to the beach, because when you say, …me went to the beach, it won’t sound right and you will automatically think, I went to the beach. Then you will say it correctly. My boyfriend and I went to the beach. (Me and (whoever)… is gaining more and more acceptance and may someday be considered proper grammar.)

We all make mistakes. I do it all the time (God bless my copy editors). And I’m not trying to sound like the grammar police. But when you’re sending out a notice to hundreds of people who are authors, and this notice is publishing related, it might be a good idea to double check the grammar before you hit send.

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com